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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Friendsday Wednesday: Becoming Madame Mao with The Politick

On Friendsday Wednesday, I discuss books with friends or ask them to write a guest review of a book. For this Friendsday Wednesday, The Politick (of the blog Curious Sparkplug) wrote a guest review of Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min. This review is also posted on Goodreads (click here).

i really liked this book, the writing style fascinated me.

although we covered a bit of China's history with Mao Zedong in school, i was not very familiar with who he was exactly. and so, it was out of interest of Mao that i pulled this book from the school library's shelf.

not only did this novel help me to understand who Mao was, it also gave me insight on his own private life and habits.
yet, the text is not only about Mao. it is about his actress of a wife, Jiang Qing.

she was a strong and powerful woman in history, though one who was not quite as influential as others.
i think she was important because, through this book, i learned of her adolescent hardship and how that contributed greatly to her suspicious nature as she grew older. this is important because her life is one that can be studied with vivid intrigue. she never really knew who she was, and today there are many who share this trait. and even though she never held a firm grasp on her true spirit, she was able to fight for what she believed was right and to most importantly, hold her own.

i am not saying i agree with what she did throughout her career, but only that she was a strong figure that demanded her rightful respect.

she had trouble with love.

though she fell in love, she was not used to it and it scared her. this led to bitterness and a cold heart by the time she was married to Mao. it also left her heart nearly drained of affection by the time she birthed her first daughter.